Catholic Charities help after 2017 disasters

Published: November 27, 2017

The following article was originally published in  Catholic Charities Connections, a special section of Arkansas Catholic, on Nov. 25, 2017.

By Patrick Gallaher
Director of Catholic Charities of Arkansas

After years of having no significant hurricanes, storms came one after another causing extraordinary damage in 2017. Through it all, Catholic Charities organizations were on the scene to provide assistance and help with long-term recovery. The spring floods in Arkansas were the prelude. Catholic Charities of Arkansas established a case management office in Pocahontas as a base of operations.

This office, staffed by Faye Spurlock, worked with long-term issues involving flood survivors and continues to help restore people to their new normal even to this day. This is on top of the immediate response to the flooding provided by the St. Paul Parish community in Pocahontas. Catholic Charities of Arkansas extended help to other areas as well, including Saline, Pulaski, Faulkner, White and Lawrence counties, all through the efforts of disaster preparedness and response coordinator Tracy Eichenberger.

CNS photo/Christine Bordelon
Volunteers from St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Metairie, Lousiana, unload relief goods for Hurricane Harvey victims Sept. 9 at a warehouse run by Catholic Charities Southeast Texas. After unloading the goods, the volunteers helped sort them for distribution.

Hurricane Harvey came ashore in Texas Aug. 25, starting a six-day ravaging of Texas and Louisiana. Catholic Charities USA responded to the area to help coordinate the efforts of the local Catholic Charities organizations in the affected dioceses. Because San Antonio was not subjected to the storm damage, Catholic Charities of San Antonio set up a logistics depot and trucked an estimated $4 million in supplies to Hurricane Harvey survivors, using Catholic Charities in the Galveston-Houston area to distribute the relief supplies.

Catholic Charities of Arkansas was able to help channel funds and some supplies to the hurricane affected areas. Immediately after, Hurricane Irma cruised through the eastern Caribbean, driving north up the west coast of Florida. The emergency management specialist for the Florida Catholic Conference, Gabe Tischler, had plans in place through Catholic Charities throughout the state to respond.

Because of lessons learned from Hurricane Andrew, Florida was prepared to meet Irma. Again, Catholic Charities USA deployed to Florida to provide assistance. Hurricane Irma first hit areas of the Caribbean outside of U.S. jurisdiction. Those islands were served by the international arm of the U.S. Church, Catholic Relief Services.

Further, the Catholic Charities organization serving Puerto Rico, Caritas Puerto Rico, responded to the U.S. Virgin Islands to lend a hand to Catholic Charities, U.S. Virgin Islands with recovery.

CNS photo/Bob Roller
A family stands on their front porch Oct. 24 in a remote area outside Las Marias, Puerto Rico. Father Carlos Francis Mendez, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Las Marias, and parishioners distributed relief goods to their home and others in the poor area who were affected by Hurricane Maria.

On Sept. 20, the monster Hurricane Maria made a direct hit on Puerto Rico. Destroying the island’s entire electric infrastructure, severely damaging the water and sewer utilities, damaging roads and severely damaging or destroying as many as 250,000 homes, Maria leaves a legacy that will require years of rebuilding. Caritas Puerto Rico is on the ground aiding the recovery effort, assisted by Catholic Charities USA, Caritas Internationalis and Caritas de Espana.

After special collections were taken nationwide, Catholic Charities USA was able to deliver significant funding to local Catholic Charities organizations: $2 million in Texas, $2 million in Florida and $2 million in Puerto Rico.

All the while these major storms raged, Mexico recovered from a significant earthquake that damaged, among other areas, Mexico City. Caritas de Mexico was the leader in responding. Catholic Relief Services brought U.S. Catholic relief funds to assist with recovery efforts. The fires in northern California created special challenges. The local diocese, the Diocese of Santa Rosa, suffered damage to schools, diocesan offices and the homes of staff and parishioners.

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa worked in conjunction with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to find housing for those displaced by the fires. Tragedy came to our country in the form of shooting incidents. Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada was on hand to offer assistance to survivors of the horrible shooting in Las Vegas with in-kind relief items and funds. Further, Catholic Charities of San Antonio has offered its help to the survivors of the most recent mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas.